“I started smoking at school. All of my friends did it so I started to join in and that was that - I smoked around 10 a day for nearly eight years.
I decided to quit because I’m pregnant - I have a little girl and smoked all the way through my first pregnancy.
Although my daughter was born fine and was a nice healthy weight, she has a lot of chest problems. Whether it’s down to me or not; I’m not sure, but I always blame myself.
When I found out I was pregnant this time I wanted to do it right so I decided to give up smoking. I got in touch with my local stop smoking service and had six weeks where I thought I was doing really well. I stopped going to my appointments and then went through a bit of a rough patch where I lost my job. The first thing I turned to was cigarettes.
After that I got back in touch with the stop smoking service. It took a while to break the habit but the service was great; they worked with me and got me through. They told me not to put pressure on myself and it worked - I got there eventually. I’ve been smoke free for three months now and am doing really well. I feel great and much better, I feel as though I’m free to breathe! The strain of pregnancy is taking its toll but being smoke-free has helped me to notice the little things. I can taste and smell better – everything’s enhanced since I quit!
If anyone is thinking of giving up smoking I’d tell them to get in touch with their local stop smoking service, they were fantastic with me.
They helped all along the way, giving me different techniques. It’s important to have support behind you if you’re going to quit. If you’re having a bad day the easiest thing is to reach for a cigarette but it’s not in the long run!
I’m 32 weeks pregnant now; I’m having a little girl and she’s doing great. I went for a follow up scan and she’s actually overweight with long legs and is growing well! I think it’s a good sign of giving up smoking.”